City slickers dining out more: report

Shanghai residents chose to dine out more last year, eating out nearly 20 percent more than the previous year - and growing a more diversified appetite than ever, according to a new survey released Tuesday.

Sixty-six percent of local residents ate out on average once or twice per week last year, but still considerably less than their Beijing counterparts, who did the most dining out in the nation, averaging of three to four meals out per week, according to the survey from dining-rating website dianping.com, which findings were based on data from some 12,000 members.

Still, the trend of eating out grew the most in Shanghai, at 18 percent, compared to 10 percent in Beijing and Guangzhou, the survey showed.

"Despite the economic situation, Shanghai people continued to dine out, and generously," Yan Liting, a press officer for dianping.com, told the Global Times Tuesday. "They spent 50 yuan ($7.94) to 150 yuan per person on each meal."

Roughly 80 percent of those meals were for the purpose of getting together with friends, colleague or family, according to the report.

The survey also discovered that Shanghai people's taste buds are also shifting from a Sichuan-heavy preference to foods that offer greater varieties. Northwestern Chinese cuisines and Western-style foods proved the most popular among Shanghai diners last year.

Shanghai customers are also the most willing to try new places, with some 60 percent of them buying group-purchase coupons to do so, the study added. Some 76 percent of the customers were willing to return to the same restaurant, so long as they were pleased with the service and were able to obtain more value-added group-purchase coupons.